Burritos, Enchilada Style

We seem to do Mexican at least once a week.  Usually it's a last minute, "well I have ground hamburger and happen to have seasoning, oh yeah and tortillas, lets have tacos."  But every once in a while I like to take my time and plan Mexican night.  And by plan, I really mean take chicken out of the freezer ahead of time and say "huh, ok this might work" and then realize that I don't have tortillas, pre-packaged seasoning or sour cream.  So I pick up the phone and ask the husband to get tortillas and sour cream on the way home, it's Mexican night. 

Daughter wants black beans, I like rice and husband just wants meat and cheese.  So I decide to just toss them all into a tortilla, call it a burrito.  Oh, and I have salsa in the fridge, oh and CHEESE, so I'll bake them enchilada style!  But that still leaves me without taco seasonings.... why pay for pre-packaged when you can make your own!?  Oh yeah, let's play.

Ingredients

• Chicken Breast, Thighs
• I used 1 large breast and 2 thighs - adjust for how many you're going to cook for.  This made enough for 5 people
• Pre-packaged yellow rice
• 1 can black beans, drain and rinse
• A mirage of seasonings - what, your cabinets aren't well stocked?  Then, go stock them.
• Chili Powder
• Garlic Salt
• Onion Powder
• Salt
• Pepper
• Oregano
• Paprika
• Red Pepper Flakes (yay!)
• Chicken bouillon (3 cubes or 2T from jar)
• 8 inch flour tortillas
• Mexican shredded cheese, Cheddar shredded cheese
• Your favorite salsa

Rice & Beans

• Make the rice according to the package directions
• When just about all the water is gone, add the black beans, cover back and up and finish cooking.
• Remove from heat when done.

 Chicken

• Saute Pan - I use stainless, but non-stick would work, put in your chicken (frozen or thawed, doesn't matter) and fill with water to just the top of the chicken
• Salt, Pepper and Chili powder both sides of chicken
• Bring to a boil and add the chicken bouillon
• Why bouillon?  Well, it just seemed right to me.  Season every step of the way, add layers to your dishes.
• Let boil until chicken is cooked (turn them over from time to time for even boiling)
•  
• When chicken is done, remove from heat and set pan aside.  Put chicken on cutting board.
• Take 2 forks and start pulling the chicken apart and shred it.
• Discard of 1/2 the water left over after boiling (you should probably have just about 1/4 cup left in the pan) - add the chicken back to the pan.

Taco Spices

• I found myself without taco seasoning one time during Mexican night after I had ground the beef.  So to the internet I went searching for how to make my own.  From this recipe and from that recipe I took here and there, and then modified the ratios to my own taste.  I encourage you to do the same.  My level of spice in this recipe is set for my family.  They like a zip on the tongue but not fire hot.  I'd love to spice it up some time.
• In a small bowl combine the following spices.  Now remember, I'm not going to tell you Tablespoons or teaspoons.  This will all depend on your personal flavor preferences.  I will however this time give you how many parts of each. 

• 3 parts chili powder
• 1/4 part garlic salt
• 1/4 part onion powder
• 1/4 part oregano
• 1/2 part paprika
• 1.5 part cumin
• 1/2 part salt
• 1/2 part pepper 
• Stir/shake to mix

 Chicken Re-Do

• Return the chicken and 1/4 c of the boiling juices back to the stove on med-high and add your taco seasonings.
• Cook down until liquid is gone. Don't let it burn.  Take off heat when done.

Assuming that your rice and beans were cooking at the same time you were doing your chicken, you should now have 2 separate hot dishes.  Let's combine them.

Let's Get Rolling

1. Zap the flour tortillas in the microwave to warm them up.
2. Lay it out on the counter (you cleaned it right?) and add your rice and beans, then your chicken.
3. Roll, tightly.
4. Place in a baking dish.
5. Repeat 1-4 until you've made 4-6 rolls.
6. Pour salsa over and use back of spoon to make sure all tortilla is covered, otherwise it dries out and gets hard.
7. Cover them with gobs and gobs of cheese.  1/2 cheddar, 1/2 Mexican blend.
8. Place under a broiler until cheese is melted and has a slight crispy top.  DON'T BURN IT!

And.... serve it on a plate with fork an knife with a dollop of sour cream.

Oh My Marinade - Chicken Thighs

Having had a kitchen torn apart since... January (?) most of my cabinet stock foods have been in brown boxes sitting in my dining room.  And because I have decided that when it comes time to put them back in, I will be weeding out the old and expired and using up what I can without buying new, I've tried to do as much "home made" as I can.  One of our biggest money wasting purchases is keeping a well stocked cabinet.  While this is great from one angle because I can then say I always have this or that on hand, it's also bad, as I lose track of what I really have.  I have found duplicate spices, having purcahsed Ginger recently because I didn't think I had it, so now I have two bottles of ground ginger.  Same with Curry.  At least it's two good spices though.  However I have about 4 bottles of cinnamon... why do I have so much cinnamon?  So before I put all my food items back into what will hopefully be a super organized, labeled and categorized set of cabinets, I'm trying to use and create and make what I can from scratch.  Which means, a lot of playing.

I first made this marinade a few weeks ago and applied it to chicken wings.  I really, really wish I had taken a picture then for you.  The wings came out FANTASTIC.  I mean, they could not have been more perfect.  They were crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside with just enough sauce to give you sticky fingers.  Oh they were divine!  But alas, I did not have my camera near by and so I did not get the opportunity to share this marinade with you then.  Last night however, I applied my new sauce to chicken thighs and behold, the same succulence came forth from my grill.


Now I present to you the ingredient list:

• Soy Sauce (I prefer low sodium)
• Sesame Oil
• Fresh or Dried Chives
• Ground Ginger
• Garlic Salt
• Red Pepper flakes (didn't I tell you I've been crazy about them lately, they go into everything!)
• Toasted sesame seeds
• Sugar

And you ask me, as always, but HOW MUCH Jenn?  And my answer to you this time... depends on how much chicken!  I served 8 chicken thighs with this.  And my combined amount of liquid could not have been more than just 1 cup.  I cook by taste.  Grab a bowl.  Pour in  some soy sauce and sesame oil.  Equal parts, that I know for sure.  Add to that sugar and the rest of your spices.  How sweet do you want it, adjust accordingly.  Note that your pepper flakes will give more flavor the longer they sit in the sauce and once they get heat up, so it may take you once or twice of making the sauce to get your heat adjusted correctly.  First time I made it, it had a nice zing on the tongue and last night it was just a soft undertone.

Now, I'm sure by now you've also noticed that I've said "sauce" and I also say "marinade" - well, you could use it either way!  This would be so yummy having let the chicken sit in it for an hour or more and I have a variation that includes White Wine Vinegar where I do just that.  But the last two times I've made this sauce, I have used it as just that, a sauce.

Let's get cooking.
Prep your chicken, trim what needs to be trimmed.  I used boneless, skinless thighs last night.  I have also used wings and drumsticks.  This is best with skin on, as you can get things nice and crispy.  Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken parts you have decided to use.

Get your grill nice and hot.  Get the chicken on.  What, Jenn, no sauce?  Oh nooooo... why get my grill all dirty?  Get the chicken on the grill naked (aka. no sauce).  Use your grill skills and make those lovely grill marks.  Turn the heat back a bit and flip them when it is time.  Cook your chicken to its desired doneness (you know, not pink).  If it's chicken parts with skin, keep an eye on them as you don't want flare up or burns.

When the chicken is just about done, that's when you bring out your sauce.  Douse those babies and make 'em happy.  They've been roasting under that hot fire and they are asking for some cool sauce.  Turn the heat to low and just let them sit for a few minutes under a closed lid, let the sauce start to caramelize a bit on top.  Flip, sauce the other side.  Let them sit.  Repeat this until you have sauced the chicken at least 2 times per side.  And as a side note, this is a good time to let yourself get sauced.  Any of my drinks from this blog go very nicely with grilling.  Stay cool while your meat heats.  LOL



Ok, when they're done, you should be out of sauce for the most part, and your chicken should be a beautiful amber brown and glistening. 

Serve with pasta or rice, and of course a vegetable.  Enjoy!

What's Better than Bacon?

Cooking Bacon at 9:30pm on a Wednesday night.

Vegetable Soupy Stew

So, I've got this event tomorrow night that requires several people to bring a dish.  It's not exactly pot-luck since we all know basically who's bringing what.  And since I wasn't sure if I'd have an oven or not, my pot had to be stove top or crock pot.  I decided to make soup.  What kind of soup, well, I'd determine that later once the date got closer.  Now it's tomorrow and I'm not sure what to do.  I have a few "fancy" soups like I like to make like Leek and Potato, or Cream of Wild Mushroom (usually has at least 5 different mushrooms), a recent addition is a Spicy Pumpkin Soup, and of course the classic Chicken Noodle, which I tend to make more like a chowder.  (I'll put that one up some day.)  But then I found out that one of the people attending is a vegetarian.  I've cooked all veggie before and have not found it to be an issue, so I took this on as saying my dish would be the one true veggie dish they can have.  Heck, I think it's even Vegan.

Now, I tend to cook meals so that they have sustenance to them.  When you leave my table, you won't go away hungry.  So when I play, I play hard.  My meals are not usually for the meek.  I like big bites.  I like big flavors.  And I always incorporate something I learned from the last time, into the next big meal.

So tonight, we play with Vegetable Soup, and I say if it can't have meat in it, go big or go home. (Am I allowed to use that?  Didn't someone copyright it?)  So, here's my hearty Vegetable Soup with bites big enough for Stew.  Let's play.  Get everything ready and prepped ahead of time, I move fast.



Ingredients

• 1 Sweet Vidallia onion (1/4 finely chopped set aside, 3/4 sliced)
• 2 short stalks celery (1/2 of one finely chopped, the rest bite size)
• 8 carrots (2 finely chopped, the rest bite size)
• 1 small cabbage (1/2 sliced to 4 by .5 inch strips)
• 1 package baby portabella mushrooms (quartered)
• 2 yellow summer squash (drawn and quartered)
• 2 zucchini  (drawn and quartered)
• 3 cloves garlic (smashed and finely diced)
• Olive Oil
• Sweet Vermouth
• 4oz tomato puree
• 2 boxes vegetable stock

Spices (I don't measure, just pour 'till it looks "right")

• 2 bay leaves
• oregano
• basil
• salt
• pepper
• red pepper flakes (5 gentle taps on the back of plastic bottle)
• thyme

And Here we Go

1. Cover bottom of LARGE pot with olive oil
2. Toss in your finely diced onion, carrots and celery (this is the standard mirapoix), generously salt and pepper here.
3. Saute this on Med-Low, keep it moving.  Sweat it out and get it brown and good.  If food starts to stick to the bottom keep it moving, but don't scrape it off.
4. When things looks dark and melted away and beyond soft (but NOT burned), pour in about 3 splashes of sweet vermouth.  And stir it up and scrape off the brown on the bottom.  This is called "fond." which I have talked about in strangely enough another Vegetarian post (Veggie Chili) - We're de-glazing the pan.
5. Alright, everything happy in the pan?  Let those veggies soak up that vermouth for a few minutes (keep them moving)
6. Toss in your bite size carrots, your bit size celery and your sliced onion.
7. Bring your pan to High and get them hot and keep them moving.
8. While these are starting to sweat start dumping in your spices.
• In go 2 bay leaves
• shake, shake, shake that oregano
• boogy woogy your basil
• more salt
• more peppa
• 5 taps on the bottom of your red pepper jar
• and "probably" about 1T of thyme
9. Med-High heat and keep moving.  You're now getting the flavors of those spices into the veggies
10. When they start to glisten (yes, they actually somewhat shine when they start to get tender), add your summer squash and zucchini
11. Add your garlic
12. Stir and keep things moving
13. Is the squash starting to shine?  Do they look like they're starting to get tender?  Alright, then add your mushrooms!
14. Hit the heat to high, keep things moving and wait for stuff to sizzle.  Get the flavors of all that spice into those veggies.  They want it.
15. When the mushrooms look like they're about to start shrinking, add your stock.  Add your can of tomato sauce.  Add enough water to all this to get the veggies floating.
16. Cover it.  Keep it on High.
17. Bring it to a boil.
18. Let it simmer on Low-Med for about 10 minutes.
19. Add your cabbage after 10 minutes.  Turn off your heat.
20. Let it sit another 10 minutes.

It should be approximately 1 hour later than when you started.  Yes?  Less?  That's OK.  More?   That's OK too.

Now, one optional component to this I MIGHT add tomorrow when I put it in the crock pot would be pasta, that small round hole pasta, looks like it's made for kids, often found in minestrone.  I haven't decided.  ALSO, I considered adding beans.  I would choose Cannelloni beans if I did.  Both may be a bit much, not sure yet.  I plan on having this at lunch tomorrow to test out and see what's missing.  I will then alter or add to it once it makes it into my crock pot tomorrow night.

Chew on This - 5 Minutes of Fame

Anyone who knows me, knows that I would give up my current daily job in a heartbeat to stand around and cook all day.  I aspire to run my own restaurant, crazy as it may seem.  I have a head filled of hopes and dreams that some day I could quit this computer life and just cook.  Now, this dream tends to change from season to season and the restaurant concept comes and goes like a butterfly on a sunny day hoping from flower to flower.  If you asked me today, I would tell you I want a high end place with a top chef.  If you asked me tomorrow, I'd tell you I want to be the best greasy spoon in town and serve just breakfast with blue plate specials.  Other days, it's a coffee shop with fine pastries, and of course beautifully decorated cakes.  But what it comes down to is that as soon as I win the lottery I'm outta this technology joint and into some cooking as fast as my feet will take me.  Knowing my odds at the lottery, this could take a while, so in the meantime, I cook what I can for my family and get hazy eyed with dreams.

That being said, I watch a lot of the Food Network, Travel Channel, History Channel and just about any other channel where you can find something about food.  Yes, it consumes my Tivo.  Guilty.

Here's where I tell you that you will not be getting a recipe from me in today's entry.  Nope.  Today, you're getting a story that I will be able to regale for the rest of my life.  A "once in a lifetime" opportunity, that had I passed it up (and I almost did) would have been stupid.

It started last week.  On Facebook.  A friend posts that a friend of hers, working at ABC Daytime as a Post Production Assistant, is looking "...specifically for a mother who likes to cook for her family and is available to skype for a segment airing live" on a show called "THE CHEW."  This is a daytime talk show, consisting of 5 hosts; Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly, Mario Batali, Michael Symon and Daphne Oz.  Yeah, 5 very popular, very famous people.  Wait back up the food truck... Mario Batali and Michael Symon!!???  Oh yes.  Very cool.  So, that's nice.  I read the post and think not much of it.  A quick "heh yeah, that'd be cool" and I move on with my morning.  Well, then I get an e-mail from my sister in law with exclamation points telling me I should get on Facebook and look at this girls post and it's something I should do!  Ok, now my brain goes into overdrive and reads the post again.  I head back to the website and check out what this show is really all about.  I vaguely remember seeing the commercials for it when it originally started to air last year.  I was going to Tivo this, that's right.  Huh... OK, I'll check it out.  Seconds go by and the Post Production Assistant (PPA) actually replies and says this would be a live recorded webcast where you Skype and talk directly with the hosts.  Wha-aaat?  A chance to talk with Mario Batali and Michael Symon??  Me?  Oh, GOD YES, I'm in.

So, I send Facebook friend a message that I'm interested and here my e-mail address and cell phone number.  And I move on with my morning.

NOT AN HOUR LATER, my cell phone rings and it's the PPA, who wants to know more about me.  Do I cook often?  What do I cook?  What are my favorite things to cook?  What do my kids enjoy best?  What does my husband enjoy most that I cook?  How long have I lived in New England?  Do I have a web camera?  A web camera, yes.... oh shoot... wait... no... the laptop camera is broken, but I can do this from home if I had to.  I'll call her back in an hour.

Big time scramble now to get the laptop camera working.  The taping time of this is during my lunch hour on Monday.  "Today" is Friday.  Got it working and called back the PPA and I'm in!  Wahoo!  Cloud Nine, floating high.  Going to get a chance to talk with Mario Batali, Michael Symon, Clinton Kelly.... Oh so cool.

Monday morning approaches and I have all my ducks in a row.  I have a conference room booked, my camera still works, the internet is stable, there's an 11:30 test call scheduled.  100% cannot concentrate on anything work related.  Oh what fun.  11:30 rolls around and the test call goes pretty well.  The video feed from their end of my picture isn't great, we're not sure why, but it's well enough.  And oh yeah, can I find someone else to sit with me?  What?  Really?  You did hear that I said I work in the computer industry, which is 90% men, right?  So I scramble to find someone, anyone that might have an interest in food and could drop their lunch hour to sit with me and webcast with these famous chefs.  At 12:15, I finally hooked someone and we're scheduled for our call at 12:30.  By 12:45 we're TALKING WITH THE HOSTS.

Now, I have to point out... that while this is a very cool experience, much of it was staged.  After they talked with me and learned what I like/do not like to cook, a few topics were chosen for me and I was asked to start with a particular question.  We can't catch those celebrity chefs off guard with a hard question now, can we?  So, they were my own thoughts and topics, but I was asked to talk about X, Y and Z in particular.  And also, due to the technology of how they overlayed our Skype image intot he studio, we were not able to SEE the chefs while we were talking to them, nor could they see us.  The control room could see us, and then we were green screened in after the fact.  Either way, I did get to really and truly TALK and laugh and joke with the hosts and that was really very cool.

So, without much further ado, I give you, the clip of my 5 minutes of fame; a live taped webcast Q&A with the hosts of THE CHEW.

Titled:  "One if by land, two if by Seafood"

And here's the best part.... if I play my cards right, I could get to visit and be an audience member, AND get to sit at the tasting table.  Finger crossed, I'm planning a trip in July!

Royal Whisky Sunrise

So, I tend to collect a lot of different types of alcohol, mixes and liqueur in my cabinet.  So much so, that it gets stuffed in, and you have to be careful to open the doors when opening.  Or, I just end up having to start putting it elsewhere.  Why do I collect so much alcohol?  Well, two reasons really.  The first being that I love to experiment with new recipes and that always seems to require buying yet another bottle of something or another.  And, if you looked at my current selection, right now, it's kind of sad as I'm not even stocking blue curacao or grenadine, or even a nice chocolate liqueur.  But my liquor cabinet is busting at the seams regardless, and that's when reason number two comes in.  I throw a lot of parties. People tend to bring alcohol.  People leave opened bottles behind, I put them in my cabinet. 

I have 2.5 bottles of Tequila.  I have 5 kinds of rum.  I have 3 kinds of whiskey.  I have at least 4 bottles of vodka.  And add to that a few miscellaneous like triple sec, sweet vermouth, etc and voila, the cabinet is stuffed.  Not to mention there is a bottle of Crown Royal (a big one) with what appears to be just a single shot left rolling around in the bottom.  Why not just throw it out?  'Cause it's Crown Royal!  That would be alcohol abuse.

In the mood for a cocktail last night, I decided to take on the challenge to use that last shot of Crown Royal.  But it couldn't just be straight into a glass with ice.  That's no fun.  I had to play.  And after reviewing my selection of grains to go with it, here's what resulted:  The Whiskey Sunrise.  I should mention that this is not for the faint of heart.  You must enjoy the taste of whiskey.  There's no masking it here.

Royal Whiskey Sunrise
(amidst my dust of kitchen renovations)

Royal Whiskey Sunrise

1 part Crown Royal
1 part Light Rum
1 part Triple Sec
2 parts Pineapple juice

Pour into shaker over 3 cubes of ice
Shake well.

Pour into martini glass
Drizzle in about 1T of maraschino cherry juice

     - This is your sunrise, you'll notice how the cherry juice stays on the bottom.  Your drink will change as you consume it, the flavors mixing differently from pineapple, orange and cherry.  I found it to be a very nice adventure.

Now, since I had just 1 shot left of the Crown Royal, and I was in the mood for a 2nd drink, I did attempt to make a second with Johnny Walker Black Label whiskey.  While the drink had the flavor remnants of the first... JW is a much stronger whiskey in flavor.  It was "OK" but going forward should I ever decide to make this again or serve it at a bar or to friend, Crown Royal is the only way to go, there really is no other substitute.

Spring into Spring Rolls

A while back we hosted a party at our house.  I know, right, me, throw a party... could you imagine. <yes I'm being sarcastic)  And I said "a while back" meaning it was more than just this past month.  Most people will tell you that I entertain a lot.  Well, I do.  I like it.  No, I love it.  I entertain, a LOT.  If something isn't going on at my house that month, I go stir crazy.  Heck, it's a reason just to keep my house clean!  I thrive on having a house full of guests, laughing, drinking, having a good time, and eating.  I like the feeling of slaving over a hot stove all day creating a well deserved master piece, whether it's a recipe I've done before or something new.  And then presenting it to them to enjoy, all the while soaking in the ooooos and aaahhhs and oh yummmms.  So when I entertain, I always whip up something I know I can do well and has been done in the past, but I also like to toss in something new, never tried.  Sometimes they go well, sometimes they flop.



So, this party.  It was a pot luck.  And although the pot luck means everyone should be bringing one dish, I of course still worry that there won't be enough food.  So I cook more than I should.  Also, it's just so hard to choose only one recipe.  I had recently been craving spring rolls.  I didn't want to go for the pre-frozen, and I didn't want to order them from the local Chinese restaurant.  It's obvious, it was going to be a homemade attempt.  I don't have a deep fryer.  Shock, I know.  So, this could go well, or it could go poorly since I can't fry them, they will have to be baked.  But whatever, it's about playing.  After compiling a subset of several different recipes and things to try, I gathered my ingredients, or what I thought should go inside spring rolls and started to wing it.  Here are those results.





Ingredients:
 - Spring rolls are loaded with veggies.  Crunchy ones and soft ones.  Here's what I chose.

Shredded Carrots	Sprouts!  (who doesn't love sprouts?)
Mushrooms	Broccoli Slaw

- (but not just ANY mushrooms, I found the most awesomist mushrooms ever "Enoki Mushrooms!") 
- You're going to want to rinse off and trim your mushrooms


       - Spring Rolls rice paper wrappers, not to be confused with Won-ton wrappers.  The Spring roll rice papers can be found int eh international aisle of your grocery store.  I found them with the special Chinese noodles.
       - Salt, Pepper
       - Soy Sauce
       - Sesame Oil

Let's Play!

 - Use a wok if you have one.  If not, just use your stainless steel and get it as hot as you can.
 - Drizzle sesame oil to taste and add all your shredded veggies
 - Salt and Pepper and soy sauce to taste
     - Don't over do the soy sauce, as it will make stuffing your wrappers very messy
 - Cook until the veggies are at the tenderness you like
     - I do mine al dente so they still have crunch, but are not raw
     - Make it a habit to take a piece out and taste it, test it.  Not just for tenderness, but flavor.  More salt?  More pepper?  More sesame oil?  More soy?



Get Rolling!

 - Let your veggies cool down a bit, since you'll be handling them with your fingers.
 - Locate your baking dish or cookie sheet and spray generously with cooking spray.  If not, they WILL stick.
 - Get a saute/frying/pot big enough to fit your rice paper flat.  Fill with just about 1 inch of water and get it hot, but not boiling.  You're putting your fingers into it.  If found hot water from my sink was good enough, no need to turn on a boiler.
 - Place one rice paper into the hot water and let it soak for 2-3 seconds until it softens.  Don't let it dissolve.
 - Put the now soft wrapper on your work area.  Grab a small amount of veggies and place in the center of the wrapper.
 - Fold the sides in over the veggies.  Fold the bottom up over the veggies.  Roll.
 - Repeat and repeat and repeat.
 - If you see rips and tears int he wrapper, try to start with those so that they wrap on the inside.
 - Line your rolls up on your dish/sheet
 - Oven at 375, into to bake, until they "look good"
 - Pull them out and serve

I served mine with a pre-made, store bought sauce and of course doctored it up with scallions and ginger.


You can also attempt to deep fry these, but I'm not sure how well that would go over, as they could fall apart.  My brother in law and I attempted to deep fry them the next day (yes, they SAVE) and they fell apart.  So he battered them, and then deep fried them, and Holy they were yummy.  So that's an option too!